Remote and electronic sensing of angular displacement, for example, for determining wind direction in remote locations, requires a rotation angle sensor capable of 360.degree. of rotation, nearly infinite resolution, high reliability in a corrosive environment, low inertia and no limit to the number of rotations possible. In order to keep costs low, when used for consumer instrumentation, it is also important to minimize the amount of signal processing necessary between the rotating element and signal display.
One form of rotating shaft/angular position to electrical signal converter is the rheostat or potentiometer. This device provides an electrical output proportional to angular position of the shaft. This device, however, may be unreliable in many applications.
The present invention provides an angular displacement transducer having all the desired features noted above.